Where I Belong
by angelic-bitch
Summary: Beth wants to ask Daryl for a favour but he isn't exactly approachable. She never realised her question would end up changing their relationship forever. Set during the prison era.
1. Favour

**What's up Walkers?!**

 **This is my first Walking Dead fanfic. I'm obsessed! Even though they're going to air season 9 soon, I miss the days when Beth was around. I'm not opposed to Carol and Daryl but I do prefer Beth and Daryl. Please let me know if you're interested. This idea has been in my head for the last week and it's about time I put it in writing!**

 **Thanks,**

 **Angelic-Bitch**

Chapter One: Favour

Beth was in the prison canteen helping Carol serve dinner. On their last run, to everyone's delight, Michonne and Glenn had found many packets of instant noodles. They were serving it with a generous portion of venison from the deer that Daryl had brought back that morning and some leafy greens from the veggie patch they had set up. It was a feast.

Once they had served everyone, Beth and Carol served themselves and sat down at the nearest table.

"Have you asked Daryl yet?" Carol asked curiously before swirling the noodles around her fork to take a bite.

"Not yet," replied Beth looking to her older friend. "I'm not really sure how to ask him."

Carol smiled at that and watched Beth cut her meat into smaller pieces.

"I know he can seem…unapproachable at times - "

Beth scoffed at that.

" _But_ , he doesn't bite. Just ask him like you asked me. It was easy."

Beth nodded but restrained herself from pointing out to Carol that asking her for a favour and asking Daryl Dixon for a favour were two very different things.

Mika and Lizzie came to sit with them and they moved on to other topics. Mika asked Beth to do a plait in her hair and Beth couldn't refuse. She adored Mika and the feeling was mutual. Once they had finished their meals Carol suggested that Beth take a plate to Daryl while he was on watch in the guard tower. Beth knew it was the older woman's way of pushing her to talk to him.

Beth entered the guard tower and climbed the stairs carefully so as not to spill the plate of food she was carrying. As she reached the door she felt a jolt of nervous energy run through her system but she pushed forward trying to ignore it and opened the door.

Daryl's eyebrows raised slightly when he saw that it was her.

"Brought you dinner." Beth explained as she walked over to him, even though it was obvious. He nodded and clicked the safety on the rifle he was holding and lay the gun against the wall. Beth watched him move and noticed the muscles in his arms ripple.

He took the plate and fork from her without saying anything and started to eat. He looked up and his brow furrowed. Why was she still standing there?

"Thanks." He mumbled gruffly.

"Sure," came her automatic response. She still didn't move.

"Sumthin wrong?" He asked abandoning the fork to pick up the piece of meat to take a big bite.

"Uh no," she began. She took a breath. _Just get it over with._ "I, uh, actually wanted to talk to you about somethin."

His eyes connected with hers and she felt a strong sense of alertness course through her body.

"I wanted to ask you a favour," Beth continued. "I was wonderin if you would be willin to teach me how to fight and possibly hunt?" _There, I said it._

His brows furrowed and he continued to stare at her. It was unnerving and then she realised that he could have taken her question as an insult so she rushed to explain.

"It's not that I don't think we're protected here. Far from it. I feel totally safe here. I just, I – I think it would be a good idea."

He put the plate on the floor and moved closer to her until he was towering over her slightly.

"You wanna go outside the fence? You bored here? S'that it princess?" his voice was soft and low, but the look it his eyes showed that he was annoyed.

"N-no that's not it."

"You wanna go out there and risk your life? For what? To get away from those kids? Babysitting too hard for you?"

Beth felt her back stiffen. His condescending tone and the implication that looking after Judith and the other kids was easy made her temper flare. She felt the urge to slap him but she was too intimidated to follow through or even give him a piece of her mind. He didn't understand her. He still saw her as the immature, selfish girl who had cut her wrist back on the farm. He didn't understand that those kids were her life now.

She shrugged and took a few steps back.

"Forget it!" she stated icily and turned around to leave.

As she reached the door, Judith's face floated into her mind, then Mika's, then Luke's, then those of all the children in her charge. She sighed. She turned back around and walked forcefully up to the hunter and folded her arms.

She didn't look at him or say anything as she gathered her thoughts. He didn't say anything either, he just studied her silently. He was surprised that the girl hadn't run off crying.

What could she say to convince him? She decided that the truth was the only way. She didn't want to share her fears with him, she didn't want to give him more ammunition to mock her but she had to try for the kid's sake.

She took a deep breath and voiced what she hadn't said aloud to anyone.

"I keep havin this dream." She spoke quietly and didn't look him in the eye. "It's a nightmare really." She bit her lip nervously and forced herself to continue. Daryl couldn't take his eyes off her. In that moment she looked so vulnerable and he noticed the dark circles under her eyes.

"Somethin happens to the prison. Like what happened to the farm. And we're all split up. And because I'm always with the kids. I'm with them and no one else. We're always in the woods and I've got Judith in my arms and – and - "

Daryl understood in an instant what she was getting at and he felt a wave of guilt pass over him for biting her head off earlier.

"They're all scared and looking at me to protect them," she continued shakily. Daryl watched as she lifted her hand up to tuck a tendril of her golden hair behind her ear.

"But I don't know how." She whispered the last part, her eyes to the floor, unable to look at him.

He remained silent and continued to study her. She had changed and he had never noticed. He brought his hand up and ran a finger over his upper lip.

"Why me?" he asked in a low tone but not unkindly. "You could ask Carol or - "

"I already have." She stated and she looked directly at him. Her voice was more confident now. "Carol's going to teach me how to shoot properly. I mean, I'm ok at it but I'm not great. Michonne is going to teach me too. She wants me to develop some knife skills before I try her katana. I don't want to ask Maggie or Glenn because I know they'd worry about me. And I thought if you were willin, you could teach me to fight in close combat and to find food."

He nodded slowly.

"Okay, I'll teach ya." Their eyes locked and Beth gave him a small smile. Daryl wondered if her eyes had always been so blue.

"Really?"

"Hmm," he nodded. "It ain't gonna be easy girl."

Beth nodded. "It's not goin to be easy for you either," she said with a slight smile. "I'm not a good student when it comes to this kind of thing. It really doesn't come natural to me but I'll practice until I get it. Anyway, I've got to go heat up Judith's formula."

Before he could blink she was gone. As he continued his shift his thoughts continued to drift to the youngest Greene girl. It annoyed him. They had barely said any words to each other since they met on the farm. She had always been there, a part of the group, but he had never really noticed her. He couldn't say that anymore.

 **So, what do you think?**


	2. Contact

**Wow guys thanks so much for the reviews, follows and favourites!**

Chapter 2: Contact

Daryl noticed that wherever he was, his eyes would scan the area to see if Beth was around. He didn't like it. It hadn't been like that before she had asked him to train her. He had barely noticed her then, so what had changed? He couldn't figure it out but he knew he didn't like it.

He had planned to wait for her to come to him to ask him when he was free for them to start their training sessions but a few days went by and she never came. Feeling irritated he finally gave in to his impulses and sought her out. He soon realised that she hadn't come for a reason. It wasn't that she didn't want to train, just that she didn't have time. She was with Judith almost all day, every day and every kid in the prison seemed to gravitate towards her. She was always feeding Judith, or diaper changing or holding Judith while she read the other kids a story or listening to their childish squabbles, or supervising games or coming up with a game to entertain them. She supervised them eating breakfast, getting dressed and brushing their teeth. She put them to sleep every night. On top of this she helped prepare the food and helped with the laundry. It was crazy. He didn't know how she had the patience or the energy.

He brought it up with Carol one afternoon who was surprised to see that Daryl seemed to _want_ to train Beth. She had known that he would say yes but not that he would go out of his way to make sure it happened. Daryl wasn't good at interacting with other people and it was clear he wanted to do this so she immediately volunteered to look after the kids so that he could train Beth. She convinced Sasha to help her and all three of them found Beth inside the library area of the prison reading to the kids from a novel. She was sitting on a small couch with Judith cradled between one arm and her body while the other kids sat around her listening attentively.

"Charlie hadn't moved." Beth read enthusiastically. "He hadn't even unwrapped the Golden Ticket from around the chocolate. He was standing very still – oh, hello." Daryl watched as Beth's look of surprise turned to one of confusion at seeing them all there.

When Carol explained why they were there Beth was more than grateful.

She and Daryl left the library to head outside.

"Thank you so much!" she said with a bright smile. "I've been meaning to harass you to train me but I haven't really found the time."

Daryl shrugged. "Was Carol's idea." It wasn't a complete lie. He had wanted to train her but Carol had volunteered to take over babysitting duty.

They walked in silence for a while which made her nervous. She was suddenly overwhelmed by his presence. He was just so…masculine for lack of a better word. He walked as if every step had a purpose and the smell of him filled her senses. Leather, sweat and cigarette smoke. She shook her head slightly as if the action would clear her mind. Her thoughts then floated back to their conversation in the guard tower and how he had made it clear that he thought her looking after the kids was easy. Like it was nothing, meant nothing. She frowned. Her interaction with the kids was pretty much all she had to talk about these days. He wouldn't be interested in that. She tried to talk about what he was interested in.

"Did you go hunting today?"

"Mmm." He answered with a nod.

"Get anything good?"

"Few squirrels." He muttered.

"Cool." They were silent again. After spending so much time with the kids Beth craved adult conversation but the hunter wasn't giving her anything. She knew he wasn't exactly a conversationalist but she had seen him talk easily to Carol and a few of the others. It wouldn't kill him to try with her. What she didn't know was that Daryl was concentrating on not staring at her shoulders. It was warm so she was wearing a dark grey top with thin straps and he had immediately noticed her creamy, smooth skin.

As he opened the door for them to go outside. It didn't go unnoticed by her that he automatically gestured for her to go through the door first as he held the door open.

"Maybe you could teach me how to gut the squirrels you brought back." She suggested. He looked surprised at that and she laughed.

"I'm not a squeamish princess who's going to swoon at the sight of blood and entrails Daryl." She continued to laugh. "At least, not anymore."

He raised his eyebrows questioningly as they reached a place on the grass that was more level but she didn't elaborate. He found that he wanted to know what she meant.

"Not anymore?" He asked, his voice rough. Beth smiled.

"Would you believe that I used to be vegan?" She rolled her eyes. He looked amused.

"Why?" he couldn't help asking.

"Because I believed that all living things who feel emotions deserved to be protected rather than tortured and eaten."

"And now ya wanted ta gut 'em?"

"It's a different world now." She answered quietly. He nodded.

They moved on to training where Daryl showed her some basic punches. He demonstrated each one in the air and she tried her best to copy. It wasn't enough to have her punch the air so he raised his hands up for her to punch his palms.

"You have ta move ya hips and put ya whole body into it girl." He instructed in a low tone. She nodded and tried again.

"Better." He stated when she got the hang of it after several attempts. She was weak physically but she was better than he thought. Not enough to be able to protect herself if she were outside the fence though. As she kept punching his palms he imagined a walker grabbing on to her and felt an uneasiness in knowing that she wouldn't be able to move out of its grasp. He stepped back and put his hands down.

"You need to know how to get away from a walker if it grabs you." He stated in a low tone. Beth nodded and waited for his instructions.

"I'm gonna come at ya and I want ya ta try ta get out of ma hold." He swallowed nervously. He would have to touch her. _Don't be such a pussy._ It was Merle's voice in his head and not his own. He became agitated and didn't notice that Beth needed to take a few breaths to calm herself.

Before he could talk himself out of it he lunged at her. She gasped as their bodies made contact. Beth tired her best to push him away but he was too strong. His arms were locked around her body and he forced her to the ground. She kept trying to push him away. She wriggled weakly but his grip was too strong. They were both panting and he managed to get on top of her through her struggling. He felt her hands pushing at his shoulders and felt a sudden rage at her physical weakness. She would never be able to protect herself.

"Come on girl ya not even tryin." He growled. She was squirming and pushing and wriggling but to no avail.

"You're too strong for me Daryl." Beth breathed helplessly. She stopped moving and gave up.

At the same time they both realised the position they were in. Her hands were on his shoulders and his arms were locked around her waist. Both were breathing heavily. He looked down into her eyes and realised in this moment that he could do anything to her if he wanted and she would have no way to stop him. Anger flooded his system.

"So that's it? Ya aint even gonna try? Ya happy ta be walker food girl? Or maybe a play thing? Ya want what the Governor did ta Maggie ta happen ta ya?

It all happened within a matter of seconds. Daryl saw her eyes widen with fury. Her body stiffened in his arms and then she clawed at his face, her nails digging into the skin of his cheek.

"Shit!" he cursed and unlocked his arms from around her. She pushed him away forcefully and scrambled away from him. They both stood up and without hesitation she punched him across the face putting her all her weight behind it.

"Jesus!" He choked as he raised his hand to rub his cheek. He stared at her in shock. Her punch had had more force then he thought it could. _Where had she learned to do that?_ Her eyes were wild with a fire he hadn't known she possessed and her cheeks were flushed. She was beautiful.

They were both still breathing heavily and Daryl felt his apology die in his throat as she glared daggers at him. He watched those daggers turn to water as her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip to stop them from spilling. She suddenly turned and ran from him. His eyes followed her back to the prison doors.

What had he done?

 **Well that was fun to write! I hope you enjoyed it!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Truth about Anger

**Hey walkers, so this chapter just spilled out of me and I'm glad it's on paper (well, online) and not swimming around in my head anymore. Review and let me know what you think!**

Chapter 3: The Truth about Anger

Beth didn't stop running until she made it back inside the prison walls. Her heart was racing and she couldn't tell whether it was because she had run as fast as she could or because she was in shock over punching Daryl Dixon. She walked briskly to her cell and sat on her bed and tried to slow her breathing. What had she done? Would he be mad? Would he seek some kind of retaliation?

 _No, he was a good man._ He was rough around the edges but he wasn't vindictive. Then again, what he had said to her had been cruel. His words echoed in her head.

 _Ya happy ta be walker food girl? Or maybe a play thing? Ya want what the Governor did ta Maggie ta happen ta ya?_

How could he have said that? She had confided in him her worst fears about not being able to protect the kids outside the fence and he had basically just mocked her by saying that she couldn't even protect herself from other human beings let alone the dead. Did he really think that the possibility of being assaulted or raped hadn't occurred to her?

He could have showed her how to get out of his grip while they were training but he chose to humiliate her instead. _How could he be so unkind?_

Beth felt her anger grow strong again. She wasn't going to feel bad for punching him. He deserved it. A voice in the back of her mind reminded her that she had seen the scars on his back and that she would never want to add to his pain, but she squashed the thought as soon as it came. He could have taught her properly but instead he chose to mock her and talk down to her as if she were an ignorant child. She couldn't let go of her anger and she decided that she was ready for whatever his reaction would be.

She had no idea that he was the one who was worried about her reaction. He hated himself. He avoided going back inside and decided to spend the next few hours on guard duty even though it wasn't his shift. Tyrese was happy to be relieved of the duty and didn't question it because Daryl clearly wanted to be alone.

He reappeared around dinner time and watched Beth feed Judith her bottle as she chatted with some kid… _Patrick, yeah that was his name_. Daryl couldn't take his eyes off her and he noticed that Patrick couldn't either. The kid was basically drooling all over her and Daryl felt a sudden urge to punch the glasses of his face. He couldn't figure out why though. Why did he care? How had this happened? A few days ago Beth had been a part of the background and now she was all he could think about. 

As if sensing his eyes on her she looked up and locked eyes with him. Her pretty smile changed quickly and she glared at him briefly then returned to her conversation. He swallowed. How was he going to fix things with her? Why did he even want to? She was nothing to him. Right?

He stayed in the same spot at a table towards the back of the canteen as he ate and he continued to watch her through the corner of his eye all through dinner. People began to clear out and now she was sitting with her dad and Molly while she bounced the baby in her lap. He was debating with himself over what he should do and what he wanted to do. He _should_ do nothing and just ignore her so they could go back to how they were before. He would have done that if it were anyone else. What he _wanted_ to do was go up to her and get her alone so he could… what? Apologise?

No. He hadn't done anything wrong. He had just said the truth. He was like that with everyone. That's who he was and if Princess Beth didn't like it, it was her problem. But why couldn't he stand the fact that she was angry with him? He was starting to get angry at her for making him feel this way.

He stood up abruptly after having decided to give in to what he wanted to do and walked purposefully over to her table.

"Evenin' Daryl." Hershal greeted him with a warm smile. "Everythin alright son? What happened to your cheek?"

Daryl rubbed the skin under his eye where Beth had clocked him. It had turned a light shade of red and was slightly swollen.

Beth's back stiffened but she didn't look his way. She simply spoke quietly to Molly.

"Finish eating your salad honey, it's good for you." Her voice was steady but inside she was panicking. She hadn't expected Daryl to come over here. She could sense his eyes on her and her face began to heat up.

Daryl shrugged, trying to seem calm. "Nothin. Was just wonderin if Beth wanted ta come with me ta gut the squirrels I caught this mornin. Said she was interested in learnin how and now's a better time than any."

Hershal looked surprised but thanked Daryl for offering to teach her and he encouraged his daughter to go as he took Judith from her arms. He didn't notice that she had clenched her fists or that the smile she wore was fake.

Without a word Daryl turned to leave and Beth realised she had no choice but to follow. She was fuming. They said nothing as they walked outside to the big table where most meals were prepared. When they got there Beth noticed about 10 squirrels on the table with a few different knives. Daryl walked up to them and picked one up. She stood a few feet away with her arms crossed.

"Come on Greene," the hunter said over his shoulder without looking at her. "They're dead. They don't bite."

Beth rolled her eyes and stepped closer. What had she expected him to do? Apologise for being a jerk? That wasn't his style. He probably didn't think he had done anything wrong. That said, why did he want her here now?

Daryl was asking himself the same question and decided that it was because he was going to show her that he wasn't going to be immature like her. He was going to continue with his lessons no matter what she thought of him.

Beth stepped closer until she was right next to him. He didn't look her way. He simply picked up a squirrel by it's tail, put it down in front of her and picked one up for himself. He placed a knife next to her squirrel and motioned for her to pick it up. She did. He picked up his knife and began the lesson.

"Ya hold it like this and cut from here." He made the first incision and then motioned for her to copy.

Beth was no longer focusing on him but on the squirrel. It's small, dead eyes were open, staring right at her. She may not have been vegan anymore but she still wanted to show the animal the respect it deserved and somehow thank it for dying so that she and her community could live. Before she moved to make the first cut she reached out and closed it's eyes with two of her fingers.

Daryl scoffed and her head whipped to glare at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do you feel anythin? There's nothing wrong with me showin respect to a creature who died so that I could live!"

Daryl scowled at her but realised that he felt some kind of satisfaction at being able to piss her off so easily. She had gotten under his skin and it was good to know that he could do the same to her. He was going to retort that her kindness would get her killed someday but he saw someone approaching them out of the corner of his eye. It was Mika. Beth noticed her too and the hunter watched the blonde's face turn from one of fury to concern in an instant.

"Mika sweetie, what's wrong?" It was obvious that the girl had been crying. "Come here baby." Beth said in a motherly tone.

Mika came up to Beth and practically fell into her open arms. "Lizzy's being a bitch." She sniffled as Beth stoked her hair. Daryl watched the two of them with a strange sort of fascination. He hadn't really seen this side of the youngest Greene girl before – gentle but authoritative.

Beth sighed and pulled away from their embrace and cupped Mika's cheek in her palm. "There's no need to use that kind of language honey. What do we say about how anger really works? Hmm?"

Mika pouted and looked down. "That when you're angry it's really because you're scared or hurt or feeling helpless."

"Mm hmm," Beth nodded, noting the irony in their conversation since she had just snapped at Daryl.

"And which are you?" she asked as she placed a finger under the girl's chin to move her face up to look into her eyes.

Daryl was in awe of Beth as he watched their exchange. He realised there was no one on this earth like her. She wasn't meant for this world. No one was this kind or wise when they were that young. He suddenly felt a wave of guilt pass over him as he realised why he had been angry with her when they had been training.

"I'm hurt." Mika verbalised. "Lizzy said I was too much of a baby and would get scared reading comics with her and Carl because they're about ghosts."

Beth wrapped her arms around the girl and laughed softly. "Maggie used to say the same kind of thing to me all the time. Big sisters are annoying like that. It hurt my feelings too."

Mika pulled away and looked up at Beth with big eyes. "Really?" Daryl could see that the little girl was delighted in having something in common with Beth. He smiled at this. Beth was her hero.

"Mm hmm, she was mean to me ALL the time. And my brother Shaun was too sometimes. It's just what happens when you're the youngest."

Daryl thought back to how Merle used to treat him. He had hated it then, but he would give anything to have Merle bully him again.

"So what would you do?" Mika asked her. Beth looked out to a bunch of walkers lining the fence in the distance and thought about it.

"After a while I stopped wanting to hang around her and she ended up missing me." She explained. "I would do whatever I was interested in and she would want to join in."

The little girl's face fell. "But I don't have anything interesting to do."

Beth looked at Daryl and then back at Mika and then back at him again and smiled softly. He raised an eyebrow at her wondering what she was thinking.

"Well," she began. "Daryl was just about to show me how to cut a squirrel open to get it's meat for our lunch tomorrow. Do you want to learn too?"

Daryl blinked in surprise when Mika's face split into an excited grin and she ran up to him. "Oh, can I Mr. Daryl?" she begged. "Please?" He looked at Beth for some kind of direction but all she did was give him a small smile. He looked back to the little girl and suddenly felt overwhelmed. What was happening?

He cleared his throat, "How old are you kid?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm ten." Mika answered eagerly. Daryl nodded.

"Was six when I learned to do this so no reason you can't learn too. Come on." He gestured that she should join them at the table and he picked up another squirrel, placed it in front of her and handed her a small knife. Beth came and stood next to her.

"It makes me sad to see them like this." Mika said sadly looking at her squirrel.

"Me too." Beth said, unashamed. "But see how Daryl shoots them right between the eyes?"

The little girl nodded.

"He does that out of respect for the animal. They die quickly and feel no pain."

Mika seemed happy with that explanation and Daryl's thoughts wandered back to how his father never taught him how to show that kind of compassion when he was hunting. For William Dixon it was about how good of a shot you were and how many animals you could hunt in a short space of time. As he watched Beth absentmindedly stroke Mika's hair as they talked, he briefly wondered what it would have been like to have someone like her in his life back then. Affection and compassion came so easily to her and he hadn't experienced much of either in the course of his life.

They continued their lesson and Daryl was happy to see that Beth got the hang of it quite quickly. Physical strength wasn't needed to gut an animal, just steady hands and a strong stomach. The kid did alright too. He was proud of both of them.

After they finished gutting all the squirrels and washed their hands in a barrel nearby, Daryl crouched down so that he was at eye level with Mika and he spoke quietly. "You know kid, my brother used to be like ya sister. Always bossin me around."

He immediately sensed Beth's eyes on him.

"I bet if ya sister new that ya just learned how ta gut a squirrel while she was just readin comics, she'd be pretty jealous." He gave Mika a small smile and stood up.

The little girls face broke into a big smile and she leapt at Daryl and hugged him around his legs and pressed the side of her face into his stomach. Daryl's eyes widened in surprise and before he could figure out what to do she had let go, had run over to Beth to hug her and then disappeared in the direction of the prison doors.

He turned to look at Beth to see her smiling at him warmly. A smile just for him. He cleared his throat awkwardly and Beth realised they were now alone. She bit her lip trying to figure out what to say.

"Uh, you got the hang of it pretty quickly." He commented wanting to fill the silence. "The next time I get something different, a deer, or some fish or something, I'll teach you how to gut those too."

Beth nodded. "Thanks and thanks for letting Mika join us too," she began softly. "You really cheered her up."

Daryl shrugged, not sure how to take the compliment. "She's a good kid and it's important for her ta learn this kinda thing as well."

Beth smiled, "It's gettin dark. I should start roundin up the kids for bed. They take forever to get settled and it's always a battle to get Luke to brush his teeth."

They both felt the nervous energy between them. Neither wanted to fight anymore but both wanted to clear the air but didn't know how. Beth turned to leave.

"I was scared." Daryl blurted out quickly. Beth turned back around.

"What?" she asked confused. The hunter cleared his throat awkwardly.

"You said to the kid," he gestured to where Mika had been standing, "that uh, when you're angry you're either scared or hurt or feelin helpless. Earlier today, I was scared."

Beth blinked. Was this really happening? Daryl Dixon expressing his feelings with more than just a grunt or two? She looked bewildered.

"Scared of what?" she whispered and she stepped closer until she was standin right in front of him. He looked down into her eyes and resisted the temptation to tuck a tendril of her golden hair behind her ear. He swallowed nervously.

"You. Gettin hurt out there." He mumbled and gestured to beyond the fence and swallowed. Beth bit her lip as she took in what he said. He wished she wouldn't do that, bite her lip. It was distracting.

His eyes were boring into hers and she couldn't look away. He noticed her cheeks flush a slight pinkish colour and he felt the urge to run his fingers along her skin to see if her cheeks were warm.

She surprised him when she raised her own hand to his face, cupped his cheek and slowly moved her thumb across the slight bruise she had created. He stood perfectly still. She frowned.

"I was hurt." She admitted softly and lowered her hand. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "When you said that thing about Maggie and the Governor - "

He cringed and Beth took a deep breath.

"I hate what he did to her." she admitted darkly. "And I was hurt that you think I'm too stupid to know what the real world is like."

Daryl stayed silent because he didn't know how to respond.

"The truth is, men have been lookin at me like that since I was 12. I didn't need you to make me aware of it. It's been like that since before the dead could walk."

The hunter felt his back stiffen. He vowed to himself in that moment that he wouldn't let anyone touch her.

"But I shouldn't have hit you." She continued and looked him directly in the eyes and held his gaze. "I'm not a violent person. At least I didn't think I was. I'm so sorry Daryl."

She looked down, ashamed. He itched to raise her chin up to make her look at him. What would he say? That she could hit him any time as long as he could spend time with her? That he thought she was incredibly beautiful and that he felt an overwhelming desire to protect her from the world. A desire he didn't understand.

"I deserved it. Was being a dick. 'Sides, you need to be a violent person in this world now."

Beth shook her head and her eyes landed on his bruise.

"Not towards you." She stated quietly. "I'm truly sorry Daryl."

He brushed off her apology with a shrug and a shake of his head.

"Anyway," she took a few steps backwards. "I should go round up the kids. Good night Daryl."

He nodded and she shot him a small smile then walked towards the prison. He watched her go and sighed. No one had ever apologised for hurting him before, especially not when he had deserved it in the first place. But she had. The angel known as Beth Greene.

 **Please review! By the way, in my first draft of this chapter I tried to have Daryl actually explain how to gut a squirrel but when I looked it up online it was a bit too gruesome for me to read let alone put into words. Gah! Let me know what you think about this chapter!**


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